Woman racks up over 1 Million miles on her stock 1970 SS350 Camaro!

[cawimmer430]

A Stock 1970 SS350 Camaro - Million Mile'maro
Emma Ely Is The Original Owner Of This Nassau Blue SS350.

writer: Lorrie Delk Walker
photographer: Patrick Hill

This is the tale of a Nassau Blue Camaro. There are no stories about its detailed lineage or the number of times it's changed hands among family members and classic car collectors. Emma Ely bought this Chevy Camaro SS350 in 1970, and that's where the story ends.

Well, not exactly.

Emma began her Camaro love affair when she purchased her first new one in 1968. A woman ran into that car and totaled it, so Emma purchased a new Camaro in 1969-a stick shift-equipped model that leaked when it rained.

On April 13, 1970, while shopping for plants at Doty Farm and Garden Supply in Winter Haven, Florida, the Mobile, Alabama, native saw her baby across the street at the Winter Haven Chevrolet Center. The solid blue Camaro had just arrived and was being unloaded from the hauler.

"Hold that thought," she remembers telling the garden supply clerk before marching across the street to claim what was hers. Emma told Bob Beckett, a salesman at the Chevrolet Center at the time, she would buy the car if he would put some white stripes on it. He did. The car cost $2,958.50, plus an additional $1,459.45 in optional equipment and accessories-including $40 for those white stripes. She made 36 payments of $107.01.

Soon after her purchase she set out for a road trip to Perry. On the way, she decided to test the 300-horsepower car's top speed. "I drove it as fast as it would go," Emma said. "That was about 130 mph."

She has driven her Camaro nearly every day since then. Her odometer registers more than 104,000 miles. But it's actually more than 1,104,000 miles, all on the original motor, transmission, and rear end. That's right, Emma has managed to flip the odometer, surely a feat few car owners do nowadays. Emma chalks up regular oil changes every 3,000 miles, routine tune-ups, and a trip to the mechanic every time she hears an odd noise to keeping the car in good running condition through the years. The F-body has made hundreds of trips from Florida to Mobile, Alabama, and she still puts between 15-20,000 miles on the car annually.

The last time she had to replace the muffler, she purchased a Midas with a lifetime warranty. That was 25 years ago. Although Emma has always taken precautions by parking away from other cars or in a handicapped spot (which she does legally), her baby has not escaped harm throughout the years. A woman rear-ended her about 10 years ago while Emma was at a stop sign, and the woman never stopped. "She pissed me off," Emma said. "I felt like choking her."

Thirty-seven years, three paintjobs, and more than one million miles later, Emma still drives her Camaro daily. She likes when people look at her, point at her car, and wave. She appreciates that it isn't every day people get to see a 72-year-old woman driving a '70 Camaro SS350 around town.

Emma's Camaro recently got a fresh paintjob and some new parts thanks to Rob Keenan at Precision Collision in Winter Haven. Rob says he'll never forget the day he met with her to discuss the project. Emma explained what she wanted Rob to do and pointed to a box of parts she had purchased for him to put on the car. Before he left, she issued this warning: "I'm gonna tell you right now, young fellow, if I don't like it, I'm not paying you." That comment didn't surprise Bob, who sold Emma the car and is friends with Rob. "There's always one customer you never forget," Bob says. "Mine was Emma Ely."

When Bob saw Emma's car being repainted at Precision Collision, his heart sank. He thought Rob had purchased the car. "I always hoped to have first dibs on the car if Emma ever sold it," he says. When Bob learned Emma was having the car restored, he and Rob devised a plan to have Bob once again present the keys to her car when she picked it up.

That was a surprise Emma had not anticipated. The mini-restoration cost the retired nurse about $6,000-nearly twice what she originally paid for the car, but that's OK. "I love it," she said. "It probably looks better now than when it was new."

When Rob teased her about selling the car to him, she used that 25-year-old Midas muffler as an excuse to hold onto the car a while longer. "I have a lifetime warranty on that muffler, and I'm going to make sure it lasts," Emma said.

In addition to her muffler paperwork, Emma now has to keep track of the paperwork for her paintjob. Rob gave her a lifetime warranty on that, too. "She's had this car so long, I don't think she should have to pay for another paintjob," Rob said.

Rob tried to convince Emma to allow him to replace the Camaro's original hubcaps with Rally wheels during the restoration. Emma said no. It isn't a "less is more" attitude that keeps Emma from adding the sporty touch to her car. For her, less is just right.









Link: http://www.superchevy.com/features/camaro/sucp_0807_1970_ss350_camaro/index.html

[93JC]

[Cookie Monster]

Wow, that's in great condition.

Ugly car though.

[The Pirate]

I've long said that preventative maintenance is key - if you catch something while it's still a minor issue, then it doesn't have a chance to explode and cause more damage.  All my cars have made it to well over 100K miles still running strongly. 

Still, one million miles is very impressive!

[93JC]

Wow, that's in great condition.

Ugly car though.

[Onslaught]

Saw this on Miata.net too. I must agree that that year Camaro is ugly. But they must have been good cars.
http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=129823

[280Z Turbo]

Who still buys white walls?!

[Submariner]

My moms Camaro of that vintage made it's last pathetic mile just shy of 90,000.  Of course, it was a V6, so something tells me the Camaro gods were punishing her for the unwise, and blasphemous engine decision she made. 

Regardless, thats a very impressive accomplishment.

[Tave]

I think it's ugly too, compared to the '69.

[CJ]

It's gorgeous! 

[Cookie Monster]

This is a beautiful Camaro:



Not that fugly turd.

[Northlands]

For a 1 million mile car, I am awesomely impressed by the condition of those seats.

[CALL_911]

This is a beautiful Camaro:



Not that fugly turd.

 

[Soup DeVille]

"Her odometer registers more than 104,000 miles. But it's actually more than 1,104,000 miles, all on the original motor, transmission, and rear end. That's right, Emma has managed to flip the odometer, surely a feat few car owners do nowadays."

Umm, Okay. I've never seen a car of that vintage with a six-digit odometer. They all flipped at 100,000 miles. If there's an odometer in that car eading anything its 4000 miles.

[the Teuton]

"Her odometer registers more than 104,000 miles. But it's actually more than 1,104,000 miles, all on the original motor, transmission, and rear end. That's right, Emma has managed to flip the odometer, surely a feat few car owners do nowadays."

Umm, Okay. I've never seen a car of that vintage with a six-digit odometer. They all flipped at 100,000 miles. If there's an odometer in that car eading anything its 4000 miles.

This is what I thought, too.

At one point, American car manufacturers would've preferred their cars not make it to 100,000 miles.

[Soup DeVille]

For a 1 million mile car, I am awesomely impressed by the condition of those seats.

"That was a surprise Emma had not anticipated. The mini-restoration cost the retired nurse about $6,000-nearly twice what she originally paid for the car, but that's OK. "I love it," she said. "It probably looks better now than when it was new."

[Soup DeVille]

This is what I thought, too.

At one point, American car manufacturers would've preferred their cars not make it to 100,000 miles.

I know that it was at least after '84 before GM started adding that digit- I remember my Toronado "flipping" the odometer on the Chrysler freeway.

[the Teuton]

I know that it was at least after '84 before GM started adding that digit- I remember my Toronado "flipping" the odometer on the Chrysler freeway.

Our 1985 Astro had a 6-digit odometer and an 85 mph speedometer.  That was the first year of production for it, so it might have become popular right about that time.

[The Pirate]

"Her odometer registers more than 104,000 miles. But it's actually more than 1,104,000 miles, all on the original motor, transmission, and rear end. That's right, Emma has managed to flip the odometer, surely a feat few car owners do nowadays."

Umm, Okay. I've never seen a car of that vintage with a six-digit odometer. They all flipped at 100,000 miles. If there's an odometer in that car eading anything its 4000 miles.

Good catch.  My Ford Ranger had a five-digit odometer as well.  This was in 1991.

[Soup DeVille]

This is supposedly an instrument panel from a 1970 Camaro.

[the Teuton]

If the last one is a tenths of a mile counter, then this person miffed the article a little.

[Soup DeVille]

If the last one is a tenths of a mile counter, then this person miffed the article a little.

It is. That's what they used to do, the last digit would be black-on-white and read the tenths. The rest would be white-on-black.

[GoCougs]

For a long, long time I lived and breathed 2nd generation Camaros ('70-'81) and owned one myself for 10 years, having modified, for better or worse, just about every inch of it (and some of those inches multiple times). Irrespective of the reputation they have, to this day they are my second favorite cars (specifically the '70-'73).

As such, I have no choice but to call BS. There's NO WAY a second generation Camaro will make it 1,000,000 miles with basic maintenance; most certainly not its power train. I've lived that world for too long. Those cars, as were most all of them from that era, were not designed for more than 100,000 miles or 10 years of life.

[Raza]

Honestly, I don't particularly care for this generation either.  I don't think it's ugly, but its predecessor was much better looking.

[Northlands]

"That was a surprise Emma had not anticipated. The mini-restoration cost the retired nurse about $6,000-nearly twice what she originally paid for the car, but that's OK. "I love it," she said. "It probably looks better now than when it was new."

I knew I skimmed too quickly. I read much slower when I'm not at work. 

[the Teuton]

We had a '76 and a '78 Camaro way back when and neither were particularly reliable.  This person must get oil changes from Mr. Goodwrench himself.

[giant_mtb]

Must be one of those freaky lucky things.  Seriously...a million miles on that?  I don't believe it 100%.  Not even 75%.  I'm 50/50.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

My mom had a green 1970 Camaro also. She traded it on a '72. I guesse it runs in my blood. 

[Cobra93]

My moms Camaro of that vintage made it's last pathetic mile just shy of 90,000.  Of course, it was a V6, so something tells me the Camaro gods were punishing her for the unwise, and blasphemous engine decision she made. 

Regardless, thats a very impressive accomplishment.

You sure about that V6 part? 

[Byteme]

I would be willing to bet she has the service records to back up the million plus total miles.

It appears she has done a lot of rather benign highway miles.  A million miles in urban traffic; no way.  A million with the majority on the highway; possible.

I'd love to know what all has been replaced, repaired under the hood.